I don't even know how we got here today. Somehow we got paired up again, it's a conspiracy I swear. We were suppose to be getting supplies for this assignment, but of course we were getting side tracked, like always.
"Oh come on Jade, it's just one stop!" Tori reasoned.
"Yes, but that's one more stop that I have to spend with you!" I say smirking.
"Har har!" She puts her hands on hips, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me through the mall.
"I just need my new box of contacts. Do you want me running into things for the next month?"
"Vega, I think you've known me long enough to know, I'd love that!" I say as seriously as I can.
She playfully whacks my arm and continues to drag me along. A few years ago, I'd have never allowed this, but I've started slowly warming up to her. Ever since she came out a few months ago, things between us have changed. I admired how much courage it took to finally come out to all of us, although I'd probably wouldn't tell her that. Tori turns back to me, not watching where she's going.
"We'll be five minutes, I swear, and I'll even buy you lunch, anything you...Ufff!" Tori slams into a very muscular guy.
I laugh as I watch fall on her butt, before I help her up.
"Oh, are you ok miss?" The guy begins "Wait, Tori?"
Tori looks up the guy and let's out an excited squeal "Benji!" Before jumping into his arms for one her famous "Tori squeezes". I'm a little shocked Vega knows somebody this good looking, the guy was probably in his early 20's, blonde hair, blue eyes, you know, generic hotness.
"Benji, what are you doing in LA? And why didn't you call me?" Tori says excitedly.
"I just got here, and the airline lost my luggage. So I'm here buying new stuff and then I was going to surprise you but you kinda surprised me." Benji laughed.
I cleared my throat.
"Oh Jade, this is my friend Benji, he lived here in LA when we were kids. We were really close friends before he moved away. Benji, this is Jade" Tori says slightly breathless.
"Hi" I say.
"Oh it's so nice to meet you. Are you Tori's girlfriend?" He asks.
My eyes widen a bit in surprise at this question but Tori just laughs.
"Oh gosh no Benji! Jade's way too good for me!" She says slightly touching my arm.
If the question had surprised me, well Tori's statement had quite thoroughly floored me. I'm too good for Tori Vega. Shut the front door!
Pulling myself out of the state of shock, I hear them talking about catching up.
"Ok, well you have my number, please call me tonight. We need to catch up. I've missed you so much Benji Fisher!" she finishes before pulling him into another hug.
"I've missed you too Tori García!" He hugs back lifting her into the air.
'García?' Isn't Tori's last name Vega?
Tori waves her friend off, before returning her hand to my wrist and dragging me into the glasses store. She runs up to the counter to pick up her order. I walk around the
store pretending to look at the glasses. 'That was weird right. First she says that I'm to good for her and then her friend, calls her by the wrong last name'. My thoughts about the odd meeting are interrupted as the perky girl comes rushing over.
"Ok, I'm all set. Let's go get the stuff for this assignment." She says happily.
I wasn't sure which issue I wanted to address first. I mean, I know I'm attractive and everything, but I'd would have always thought that Sweet Little Miss Tori would be too good for me. Not that thought crosses my mind very often. So I went with the last name.
"Tori, why did Benji call you Tori García?"
Her smile faulted briefly, but long enough for me to notice it.
"Oh that!" Her smile returning "Well I'm half Latina, so he always called that so I seemed more Spanish."
"Wait, but isn't Vega Spanish?" I ask a little confused.
"Well, yeah.. Ah, I mean it doesn't matter, it's just a name. Oh hey look there's the store we need!" She says before running off into the mall. That was weird even for Vega. I made a mental note to find out what the go is. I walk off after her.
"Ahhh" I let out a contented sigh as I swallow my first sip of coffee. I decided to go to my favourite coffee shop this evening too finish off my new script, hoping to get some inspiration. It had been three days since Vega and I's odd shopping trip. She hadn't given any indication that anything weird had happened since I asked her the question about her friend. Something about it had bothered me, but I still can't quiet put my finger in why it had. I open my script and start to read over it.
"Jade?"
I look up. It was Benji.
"Oh hi, Benji right?"
"Yeah, what are you doing out this late?" He says as he sits down at my table.
"Ah, well, I was having writers block, so I thought I'd get out for a bit." I reply, I'm not sure why I'm even responding. I guess I really had nothing against him.
"Fair enough. Do you come to this place often?"
"Um yeah, it's my favourite place. It's out of the way and the coffee is amazing." I light up a bit talking about coffee.
"This was my favourite place when I lived here. So I thought I'd come back and get the best coffee around!" He winks and raises his cup to me.
"Although, now that I think about it, I was probably way too young to be drinking coffee. The last time I was here was when I was 11." He says thoughtfully.
I wasn't really sure where this conversation was going. The thought of the question I asked Vega suddenly popped into my head.
"Can I ask you something? How exactly do you know Tori?" I start out subtly. Not exactly my style, but you know, I wasn't in a scary mood.
"Well, I met her when I was nine, she was six. We were place in the same orphanage." He replies.
I choke on my coffee, he was joking right. Orphanage? Whatever I expected Benji to say, it certainly wasn't that.
"Excuse me?" I splutter out.
His face falls "Oh no, she hasn't told you. Oh shit. She probably didn't want you to know, I'm sorry. Please forget what I just told you!" He goes to get up and leave.
"No Benji, wait!" I say a little loud. He stops.
"Please tell me you're joking?" I say stunned. He looks at me, considering his next move. He sighs and sits down.
"Jade, look, Tori has told me a lot about you and I don't want you to use this kind of information against her." He says seriously.
I sit there a little hurt at his words, but in truth, they were kind of warranted.
"Ok, I know Tori and I don't exactly have the greatest of relationships. It's kind of a love hate thing you know." I say.
"Like Tori loves you, but you hate her?" He queries. My ears prick up at the word loves but I don't say anything.
"I guess it was at first, but you know, she's grown on me. I don't like to see her in pain anymore, I mean it use to be fun. But since she forced this whole friendship thing on me, it's just not the same. Don't get me wrong, I still make fun of her, but it comes from a different place." I smile in spite of myself "and if you tell her that, I'll deny it!" suddenly regaining my senses.
He looks at me, pondering my statement.
"Look, I get it why you'd be suspicious of me, but don't think for a second I'd make fun of Tori for something like this, whatever 'this' is!" I finish.
"Well, she did say you were the first one to support her when she came out." He says thoughtfully.
I think back to when Tori first told us she was gay.
Random Flashback.
We were all at Karaoke Dokie, and Tori had been fidgety all night.
"Vega, if you don't sit still, I'm going to make you!" I warn her.
"Oh.. Um, sorry Jade. I'll be back, I'm going to the bathroom!" She suddenly tears off to the bathroom. I watch her run off. I sigh, 'I better go find out what's wrong'.
"Vega!" I say as I enter the bathroom.
She's standing at the sink, looking like she's going to have a panic attack.
"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down Tori! It's ok!" I say rubbing circles on her back, trying to get her to calm down.
I get her to finally calm down before I ask her what's wrong.
"Ok, spit it out! What's up?" I say.
She looks at me with tears in her eyes.
"Tori you're not dying are you?" I say with a small amount of worry in my voice.
"Oh no, it's nothing like that, it's just... I wanted to tell everyone..." Her voice trails off.
"Tell us what?"
"That.. That I'm... Gay!" She hangs her head.
Her statement shocked me for only a moment.
"That's it!" I say.
She jerks her head up "You don't care?"
"Why would I?" I shrug.
Well that's all it took, she burst into tears and hugged me so hard that I almost fell over. After I calmed her down again, she managed enough nerve to go tell the rest of our friends. Who were all supportive.
End flashback
"Look, I'm not sure it's a great idea to talk about this if Tori hasn't told you. She must have her reasons." Benji says.
"Has this got something to do with the different last name you called her the other day?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, you caught that did you?" He sighs and gives me a hard look "Do you really care about Tori?"
I look at him and furrow my brows, I give in "Against my better judgement, somehow, I have started to care a lot for her. Although she's usually far to happy for my likings!" I say.
"You're a very depressing person Jade!" Benji frowns.
I laugh at him "Well, you've pegged me down right!"
We fall silent for a for minutes, he gazes at me intently, deciding whether to trust me or not.
"Ok, but this does not leave the coffee shop. Do not give Tori any indication you know. Because this is not exactly an easy subject for her." He says.
He takes a deep breath before he begins "Tori's real name is Victoria García. Her mother, Rosa García, was a singer and a single mother. Her career was just starting out in the Latin community before the accident. When Tori was six, her and her mother were on their way home from a restaurant when somebody swerved on to the other side of the road and hit them head on."
My mouth drops. I continue listening.
"There were traffic police not too far down the road, they were the first to respond. One of those policemen was David Vega. David managed to get the door open to see if Rosa was ok. She was barely alive. She managed enough energy to say one last thing to David, "Make sure my little girl is looked after!" They were her last words." He says.
"After that, David looked into the back of the car to see little Tori, almost completely unharmed. From what I'm aware, Tori's mother had no other family. So Tori was placed into an orphanage, the same one I was in." I sit there stunned, tears pricking at my eyes.
"When I met her, she was this scared and broken little six year old. She wouldn't come out of her room, she wouldn't eat and she just didn't talk. Except at night, she just cried and screamed out from her mother." He said sadly.
"I had already been there a year by that point, I was one of the oldest kids there. So as a way of coping with my own loss, I'd go help out the younger kids that would come in. So when the head nun came to me and asked if I could go comfort Tori, I did what I could. She didn't want a bar of me at first but eventually, I got her to come out of her room and too eat. At night though, she still screamed. I'd go in there and stay with her until she fell asleep. She rarely smiled or said much to anyone but me."
"About two weeks after she was placed there, David came in to see her. I heard him talking to the head nun, he said that he wanted to make sure she was ok and that he'd promised her mother before she died that he would. After that, David came in to see Tori every week. It was one of the few times Tori smiled. Eventually, David started bringing his family in, Trina was about Tori's age, so they got along quite well and Holly just adored Tori. So it wasn't really a surprise when they decided to adopt her. I overheard David talking to the nuns one night, he said "I intend on keeping my promise to Rosa. I will take care of Tori!". A year after she came in, she left with the Vega's. I was really sad to see her go. But I was happy for her. I didn't think I'd ever get adopted, given my age, but a year later, friends of the Vega's adopted me and we moved to the east coast."
"Tori and I always kept in contact. She still had nightmares, so sometimes she'd call me and talk to me until she fell asleep. They got better as she got older, and little by little she started to heal. She'd tell me about her friends and school. I was the first person she came out too. I was very surprised when she told me she got into 'Hollywood Arts', she had been so shy and reserved. I never thought she'd step up and starting singing like her mum."
'Shy and reserved? That does not sound like the Tori I know' I think to myself.
"I missed her like crazy, I never got the chance to come back to LA until now. I can't believe how much she's grown!" He finishes.
We sit there in silence, while I process what I just heard. I'd have never of guessed that any of this could have happened to Tori.
"How could all of this have happened and all of us not know about it? Why didn't she tell us?" I ask.
"Well, Tori doesn't really like to talk about it. It's not exactly a conversation starter."
"Is this why Tori doesn't drive?" Was my next question.
"Yeah, to be honest, she's never taken the test. She's just too afraid to drive. I can't blame her." He says sadly.
There are so many thoughts racing through my mind, I'm not even sure what to say. I think back to all the mean things I'd done to Tori, I feel so awful. She had already had a hard life, and then I came along and made it harder.
"Listen Jade, I'm serious. Don't not repeat this to anyone. If Tori wants to tell you, she will. But until then..."
"You never told me anything. I understand." I say understanding the seriousness of the situation.
"Please don't take pity on her either. She never liked that. The pity stares or the pity words. She always got them when she was a kid. It always made her feel worse." He gets up to leave.
"Please, be a good friend to Tori, Jade. She has suffered so much and I'd hate to see her in any more pain!" He bids me farewell and walks off into the night. I'm left in my seat, not sure how I'm suppose to feel after that very shocking conversation. I pick up my phone and pull up a photo I have of Tori from the platinum music awards. She looks so happy, just like the Tori I've always known. I brief image of little Tori in the back of that car wreck, all alone, just breaks my heart. I few tears slide down my cheeks. I look at my cold abandon coffee. I don't think anything could help me feel better after tonight. I get up, gather my stuff and make my out to go home.
One week later
I stand at my locker, getting my things prepared for the day, when I hear.
"JADE!" Followed by a bone crushing hug.
"You have two seconds, one, two..." Cat squeals and let's go.
"Oh Jade, I see you're in a fine mood this morning." Tori smiles coming up from behind Cat.
"Yeah, well, I didn't sleep well last night." The truth was I hadn't slept well since the conversation with Vega's friend Benji, I felt very uneasy with the knowledge that was brought to light. The thought of it all kept me awake most of the nights since.
"Well, since it's Friday why don't we have a sleep over tonight at my house, Yes, Yeah! Oh and we can have pizza and watch movies! Just the three of us! OH MY GOSH! This is happening" Cat shouted with delight "Be at my house at seven!" Before she ran off down the hall screaming about unicorns.
"Do you think we have a choice?" Tori turns to me.
"I don't think so!" I sigh "I'll pick you up at 6.30"
"Oh! No that's ok, I'll get Trina to drive me!" She says a little startled at my offer.
"Why take two cars? Isn't it better for the environment if we just take one?" I reason.
"When did you care about the environment?"
"Just be ready at 6.30!" I slam my locker and walk away.
The rest of the day went like it usually would, except I watched Tori a little more closely, I had been most of the week. The happy, upbeat, positive girl I've always known was still there, but was it all an act. I ponder most of this through the day and before I knew it, it was time go pick her up. So I load up my car and drive to Tori's house. Once there, I beep the horn. She comes bounding out with a huge smile on her face.
"Hey Jade."
"Vega."
"You know you didn't have to pick me up! And I know you didn't pick me coz it's better for the environment."
"Your point?"
"Why did you pick up? Wait are you going to try and kill me again?" At those words, there is a small pang in my stomach.
"Please, I would never want you dead Vega. Who would I mess with then?" I say to her with a raised eyebrow "And as for picking you up, well, we're kinda friends now, right? So, since we're friends, friends don't let friends get driven by Trina Vega more than twice a day. It's hazardous to your health." Is all I can think to say.|
She burst out laughing "OMG Jade, I can't believe you said that. But you're so right" she continues to laugh. She turns the radio on and starts to sing along. I had secretly always liked Tori's voice. So I sit there and listen, and all to soon we arrive at Cat's.
"Cat?" I yell out as I open the door. I stopped knocking years ago. It's like my second home.
I hear an excited squeal from upstairs. I roll my eyes but still smirk.
"Hey guys!" Cat squeaks out from the top of the stairs.
We make our way upstairs and walk into the pink explosion Cat calls her room. It's exactly as it always is, pink, glittery and full of fluffy toys. Except for the extra double mattress on the floor.
"Did you guys come together?" Cat asked
"Yeah I picked Vega up."
"Tori, you need to get your licence girl!" Cat says happily
"Ah, yeah. Well you know the test is hard." Looking any where else but at Cat.
"But just think of the places you could go! Seriously, the mall, school, the beach.." She continues to list places. I look at how uncomfortable Tori is with the mention of this subject.
"CAT!" I scream, making everyone jump.
"Whatie?" She says with a scared little look on her face.
"Give it a rest. Vega will get her licence in her own time." Tori looks at me a little shocked at my kind words, I don't want to give away that I know so I throw in a snide remark.
"In the mean time, she doesn't need you throwing it in her face that she keeps failing. That's my job."
Tori nods her head as if to say "and there's insult".
The rest of the night consisted of us arguing about movies and stuffing our faces with junk food. Before we knew it Cat was sound asleep. Once Cat was asleep, that was it, there is no waking her. So I settle down on the double mattress and pull out my phone. I decide to text Beck, we are not together anymore but he's still my best friend.
Tori makes her way back into the room after brushing her teeth. She looks at the way Cat is sleeping.
"How is that comfortable?" She says looking confused.
I turn and see Cat on her front with one leg tucked underneath her and the other hanging off the bed.
"Try sleeping in the bed with her, believe me it's difficult. Why do you think I made Cat get the spare mattress?" Returning my gaze to my phone.
Tori continues to gaze at Cat before jumping onto the mattress "Good call!"
"Hey Jade!" She says.
"Yes, Vega?"
"Thanks for what you said to Cat, you know, about getting my licence."
"It's fine Vega." I say trying not to linger on the subject.
"I just wish people would stop picking on me about it" she mumbles to herself.
"What did you say?" I ask her.
"Oh, no it's nothing!" She blushes a little.
"Who's picking on you Vega?" I hadn't really heard anyone but our friends say anything about it.
"Vega!" I say sternly "Who's picking on you?"
"Lola Miles." She says quietly.
"Lola Miles? That fake plastic bitch?" She nods quietly.
Lola Miles and her two clones were the resident 'plastics' at Hollywood Arts. Everything about her is fake. Her long blonde hair, right down to her nose. It's actually quite disturbing to look at. The bitch actually has less talent then Trina, which is saying a lot. The only reason she got in was because her parents are mega rich, her dad is a senator.
"What does she say?" I ask.
"That I can't be possibly be that smart if I can't get my licence and that my singing is just as bad as my driving skills." She say rather quietly.
"How come I've never heard her say that?"
"She's never done it around you. She scared of you."
Damn right she's scared of me! I'd never actually had the pleasure of getting in to it with her. Just one glare from me and she usually scurries off. I'm the only person she can't rub her fortune in too, because my parents, although divorced, are just as rich, if not more.
"Fucking bitch! God I hate her!" I spit.
My pure hatred for Lola seems to perk Tori up a bit.
"Does she say anything else?" I ask, Tori looks down "what else does she say Tori?"
Tori sighs and covers her face "She picks on me sometimes about me being gay!"
"She what?" I yell "Do you need me to slap that bitch?"
"Oh Jade, no it's fine! I'll get over it!" She says dismissively.
I look at her "Don't let her bother you Tori, you can out sing almost anyone. She's just jealous coz her singing sounds like a toad in a blender!" I say. Tori looks at me before cracking up laughing.
"And if she says anything else to you, I will deal with her!" I finish.
"Aww Jade, you do care about me!" She pokes me in the arm.
"Keep it up Vega, or you'll have started something you won't be able to finish!" I say half serious.
She pokes me one more time for good measure, she rolls over and starts to stretch out and groan, trying to get comfortable.
"Are you right there?" I ask as I watch her arm stretch past my face.
She gives one more groan before she sighs "Yep!" Before settling down comfortably on the bed.
She scoots close to me and kisses my cheek "Thanks Jade, goodnight!"
My face burns a little where she kissed me, a small smile tugs at my lips.
"Goodnight weirdo!"
About three hours later, I wake to Tori tossing in her sleep.
"God, I thought Cat was hard to sleep with!" I say to myself. I look at Tori, she has a very pained expression on her face. She starts to mumble.
"No Mamá!" The tossing turns into thrashing.
"Mamá por favor! No me dejes!"
Tori was mumbling in Spanish. Her thrashing was getting worse. I try to wake her up.
"Tori, wake up. Tori, it's ok. You're ok!" It wasn't working.
"Mamá don't leave me. Please don't leave." Those words rang through the bedroom. I pull Tori into my arms. I start to rock her back and forth, keeping a tight grip on her to stop the thrashing.
"It's ok, it's ok!" I say softly trying to calm her, feeling her tears on my arm.
After about five minutes, she begins to calm down, although she was still asleep. I feel her body relax into me before mumbling "Please don't leave me!"
Pull her in tighter "I won't!" I say softly.
I look at the girl in my arms, finally in a peaceful sleep again. In the few years I'd known her, I'd never seen her so broken. I felt the strongest urge to protect her, to make sure nothing ever hurt her again. I lay back down, still holding Tori. Breathing in deeply, I kiss Tori on the forehead before drifting off to sleep.
I wake in the same position I fell asleep in, Tori safely nestled in my arms. I check the time. 9.15 A.M. I look up and see Cat still asleep. Tori begins to stir. She stiffens up when she feels my arms around her. She looks at me cautiously "Err... Good morning?"
"Good morning." I retract my arms and stretch out.
"Sorry if I got too close to you." She says quietly.
"You didn't" I yawn.
"Oh... Then how did I get..." She says trying to figure out why we were cuddling.
"You were having a nightmare, it was the only way I could get you to calm down" I say to her.
"I was?" She looks down as if trying to remember what it was "Did I say anything?"
"Ah... A bit, it was mostly in Spanish though."
"Oh... Thanks for calming me down, Jade" she says slightly blushing.
"It's fine!" I say walking out of the room. I finish up in the bathroom and walk down stairs. I start making breakfast. I make honeycomb pancakes, it's mine and Cat's favourite and I figure Tori could do with a decent meal after the night she had. Tori walks into the kitchen.
"Cat will be down in a minute, she woke up and screamed that she had to pee."
"She always has to pee!" I say rolling my eyes.
"What smells so good?"
"Honeycomb pancakes." I say before putting a plate in front of her.
"Wow, this looks great." She starts eat "mmmm!"
"Hey, Jade?"
"Hm?"
"Did you understand anything I said last night?"
I wasn't sure how to tell her or if I should tell.
"Um, not really, I don't really speak Spanish. Sorry Vega."
Looking a little relieved, she continues to eat. Cat comes bounding into the kitchen.
"PANCAKES!" She yells before pulling up a seat.
After breakfast, we hear some weird noises coming from the backyard. Cat goes to investigate, she comes running back in, telling us we need to leave because her brother was "experimenting". Tori begins to ask what he was experimenting on, when I stop her.
"Don't ask Vega, the less you know, the better off you'll be!"
We pack up and leave quickly. I hop into the car, Tori stands a little hesitantly beside the car looking a little white. I realise that her dream must have been about the car accident. I get back out of the car.
"You ok Vega?" I ask a little concerned.
"Oh... yeah. I'm fine." She gets in.
I get back in and start the car and back out. Tori's phone suddenly gets a msg.
"Oh" she says to herself.
"What's up?"
"Mum and Dad have left for the weekend and Trina's gone to a friends. So I have the house to myself."
"Sounds exciting." I say distractedly.
"Hey, what are you doing today?" She asks.
"Nothing really." I say
"Do you want to hang out?" She asks hopefully.
"Sure." I say with an over exaggerated sigh "But you're cooking me lunch."
Five hours later
We'd been watching movies most of the day. Tori had fallen asleep on the couch just after lunch. I didn't mind, I didn't really have anywhere else I needed to go and I had control of the TV. I could hear Tori's quiet snores, I look over, she looked really cute in her peaceful state. I gaze at her for a few more minutes before I realise how long I'd been staring at her. I look away smirking, 'Well this is new. Who would of thought I'd start falling for Vega?' I think too myself. I continue to watch the TV with new thoughts swirling in my head. About ten minutes later, Tori's peaceful sleep started turn into something else. I hear her start to mumble in Spanish again.
"Cuidado con el coche." She says quietly.
I turn and look at her. She starts to toss and turn.
"Cuidado con el coche!" She says a little more urgently.
"Coche?" I say out loud, I actually did know a little Spanish "Oh shit, I think that means car. She must be having nightmares again!" I move off the couch and crouch beside Tori to try and wake her up before the nightmare got worse.
"Tori wake up! It's ok, you're safe. Please wake up!" I start to shake her gently.
"MAMÁ POR FAVOR TEN CUIDADO!" She screams.
Tori sits bolt upright, hyperventilating, looking around frantically.
"Tori are you ok?" I say full of concern.
She looks at me and starts to cry, I sit beside her and pull her into my arms. She cries for a long time. Just listening to her heart wrenching sobs was extremely upsetting. A few tears fall down my face as I continue to stroke her back, and assuring her she was ok. About half an hour later I hear a few faint little words "I'm really sorry"
I look down at her "What for?" I ask.
"For being such a mess, and you have no clue why!" I stay quiet and just continue stroking her back.
"I'd totally understand if you want to go home!" She says even quieter. I couldn't leave her like this, but I didn't want her to feel like I'm only staying because I feel sorry for her. Remembering what Benji had said to me "Don't take pity on her, she hates that!".
Before I had a chance to reply, a huge crack of thunder makes itself known. We both jump.
"Well, there's the storm the weatherman was talking about." I turn and look out the window, it's pouring "and I'm not driving in that. Looks like we're having a sleepover again tonight Vega."
I reluctantly let her go and turn the TV to the weather channel.
"Severe storm warning for our area and all surrounding areas, whoa Tori look how big this thing is!" I gasp looking at the TV's weather radar "This thing could be set in for at
least a day or so."
I turn and look at her "Looks like you're stuck with me!"
She gives me a weak smile, and then sighs in relief, clearly happy I wasn't leaving.
"Well, since you made lunch, I might as well make dinner." I say.
"That's really nice of you Jade!" Tori says
"Yeah, well I can be nice sometimes!" I smirk, getting up and moving off to the kitchen.
"I know" she says so quietly, I almost didn't catch it. I smile too myself.
I start to cook dinner, about ten minutes later Tori gets a call from her sister.
"Hey Trina... Yeah I'm at home... Jade's here... No, she's behaving... Yeah it's storming here too... Please be careful... Ok, love you too... Bye Sis!"
"Where's Trina at?" I ask in a bored tone.
"At a friends across town, she told me she's staying so she doesn't have to drive in the storm. She said she try in the morning."
'Well, I at least I won't have to put up with her tonight.' I think to myself.
"Jade?"
"What?"
"I... I was talking in my sleep again, wasn't I?"
I freeze for a second, I clear my throat "Yeah, Spanish again.'
"Oh! Understand anything I said?"
"Um, other than the word please, just one other." I continue cooking not looking at her.
"What was it?"
"You said the word coche a couple times, it means car right?" Still with my back turned, I don't want to give her any indication that I pretty much know what her nightmares have been about.
I hear a small gasp.
"You ok?"
"Oh yeah, and yeah it does mean car." She says quietly.
"Ok dinners ready!" I say giving her an opportunity to change the subject. I hand her a bowl of penne pasta, it's my specialty dish.
"Oh wow this looks great!" She takes a bite "oh my gosh, this is amazing! First pancakes and now this. Who would have thought Jade West was such an amazing cook!"
"There are a lot of thing you don't know about me, Vega." I smirk at her.
"Well, you'll have to indulge me some time, I like this side of Jade West!" She says, out of the corner of my eye I see her blush a little at her own words.
I just smile and continue eating.
I head off to take a shower, it had been a strange day. Between Vega's nightmares and my sudden realisation that I really liked her, my shower was full strange thoughts I was trying to process. I finish up and make my way to Tori's room. I stop in the hallway, I hear her talking.
"Mamà, they've started again. The nightmares. They're horrible! I'm back in the car again, and all I can see is the car lights coming towards us. All I can hear is the screeching tires and the crumble of metal and... and..." Tori starts to get upset "And you're screams... They're tormenting me."
I walk closer towards the door, it's slightly open. I see Tori sitting on the bed holding a photo frame, she has tears streaming down her face. She then holds the picture too her chest.
"I love you Mamá!" She sobs.
I walk back to the bathroom. I give it a couple of minutes for Tori to calm to down before I go in. When I walk back in, I see she has stopped crying, but I her eyes were all red and puffy. I decide not to mention it.
"Showers free." I say dismissively
"Oh ok." She says quietly, she gets up and leaves the room. Once she's gone, I look around for the frame she had been holding. I look over at her desk, they were about ten frames sitting beside her laptop. I walk over and look at them. Most of them were pictures of us and our friends. There was a big one in the middle of Tori and I after the play we did, still dressed as 'Walter and Nancy'. I smile at it, when I see a smaller frame towards the back, it was the one I was looking for. I pick it up and let out a small gasp. It was clear that this was Rosa García, there was not doubt about it, this was Tori's mum. It was like looking at Tori's twin or at least future Tori. She was gorgeous. I gaze it for a little while longer until I hear the shower turn off, I put the picture back in its exact place. I walk over and put a movie on. I pick 'The Proposal'. I decide against any of my favourites, figuring Tori's has enough nightmares to be dealing with. 'This girl's making me soft!' I laugh at myself. I lay on the bed and get comfy. I pause the movie and wait for Tori, listening to the storm.
Tori walks in and quietly climbs into bed and sits beside me.
"I put a movie on." I state and press play.
"The Proposal?" She gives me a weird look "You like that movie?"
I just shrug, I did actually like the movie, it's got Ryan Reynolds in it, who wouldn't like it.
She just smiles at me "You're going soft on me Jade!"
I let out a laugh 'that's ironic' I think to myself.
"Yeah, well storms put me in a good mood."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" She giggles "I hate storms. They always seem to be really bad when I'm home alone" At those words, a huge clap of thunder sounds, making the whole house shake. Tori screams and covers her head. I sit up and place a hand on her shoulder.
"It's just thunder Vega, it can't hurt you." I say, she stays still under her arms "And besides no matter how bad this storm gets tonight, you're not here alone." I say softly.
She uncovers her head, she looks at me. My words taking effect, realisation dawns on her. She wasn't alone. She smiles at me and slowly nods her head. Another crack of thunder sounds. She retreats to her previous position. I scoot over to her side and put my arm around her shoulder. I feel her stiffen slightly, she looks up.
"Are you ok?" I ask softly.
"Um...yeah I guess!" I can feel her shaking. I tighten my hold and rub her arm, trying to comfort her.
"Why are you so scared of storms?" I ask her.
Her shaking gets worse, something tells me I probably shouldn't have asked her that.
"Something bad happened to me a long time ago, and it was storming that night." She says very quietly.
Sensing her discomfort on the subject, I remain quiet. I decide to lay back down, pulling Tori with me, keeping my arm around her. She relaxes into me.
I return my gaze back to the TV. After a few minutes, Tori's shaking starts to stop.
"I'm really glad we stopped fighting" she says.
I smirk, I was kinda glad we stopped too.
"Why's that?" I ask.
"I like this side of you" she snuggles closer.
"Yeah well, don't tell anybody!" I say. I feel her smile against me. She sighs contently and starts to drift off.
I awoke the next morning with Tori almost completely on top of me. Memories of last night come back. Tori's nightmares started again, just before I feel asleep, I manage to calm her before it got too bad. She clung on too me after that and it was clear she hadn't let go. I look at Tori, draped across me, 'This is kind of nice' I think smiling to myself. I feel Tori start to stir. She realises how much of her body is on top of mine and moves off a little.
"Did I have a nightmare again?" She asks.
"Yeah, I don't think it lasted long, I manage to calm you down pretty quick." I say.
We continue to lay there still holding each other for a little while longer. Tori's phone rings, I hear her groan, giving me one last squeeze before letting go and getting up to answer her phone. I start to stretch out, listening to Tori's call.
"Hi mum... No I'm ok... Jade stayed over... She didn't want to drive in the storm... No Trina's not home yet... Not till when... Oh ok... No that's fine... Love you too... Bye mum."
"My parents won't be home till tomorrow night. Apparently that storm did some major damage where they are, and they can't get out yet.
"Oh wow that sucks." I pick up my phone and check the time, it's almost 11 "I really should get going. I have homework I should probably get done before tomorrow"
"Nah that's cool. I have bit I need too do as well." She says sounding a little sad I was leaving.
Walk over and grab my stuff.
"Well, I'm gonna take a shower." Grabbing a towel off her desk chair "Hey Jade?"
"Hm?" I stop and turned to her.
"Thank you!" I knew what she was thanking me for.
"You're welcome Vega!" I say walking out door "See you tomorrow" I yell back as I descend down the stairs. I look out the window, it had stopped raining, but another storm was looming.
I walk out of the house, and see Trina walking towards me.
"Hey Freak!" She says.
"Good morning, No Talent!" I retort.
She glares at me as she walks past me.
"Trina, wait!"
"What?"
"Keep an eye on Tori."
"Why?" Glaring at me suspiciously.
"She's been having really bad nightmares the last couple of nights." Trina faces goes a little white, I continue "she's been speaking in Spanish in her sleep as well, sometimes screaming in Spanish."
"Do you know what she said?" She asks concerned.
"Not all of it. She repeated the word car, coche, a lot." What little colour was left in Trina's face drained from it completely.
"Coche?" She asks meekly.
I nod "I managed to calm her down but I won't be here toni..."
"You calmed her down?" She asks completely surprised.
"Yes" I reply with a hint of confusion.
"I can't even calm her down when she has them, not even mum or dad can do it." She stares at me in awe for a brief moment.
I was a little surprised at Trina's statement.
"Just make sure she's ok tonight, alright?" I tell Trina, before I start to walk away.
"Why do you care so much all of a sudden?" She asks.
"What do you mean?"
"What's changed? You use to hate my sister!"
"Yeah Trina, I 'use to' hate her. She has a way of making people change." I smile turning back to her.
She stare at me with a hard glare "What do you know about her?"
This question throws me a little. I decide lying wasn't an option.
"I know enough. But that's not what changed my opinion of her. She changed my opinion of her." I say seriously.
"Have you told anyone?" She asks concerned.
"No, and I never will."
"Does she know?"
"No." I answer "and I won't tell her I know until she's ready to talk about it." I walk up to Trina and place my hand on her shoulder.
"I won't hurt her."
"If you do, I will end you Jade West!" Impressed by the threatening tone in her voice, I nod at her.
"Duly noted!" I remove my hand and walk to my car.
The next day.
We had another storm last night. I woke up to hear it still raging. I figured I should probably leave early for school, given the weather. I get to school about ten minutes earlier then normal. The traffic wasn't as bad as I expected. I walk through the front doors. The first thing I see is Lola Miles and her clones stalking around the halls, picking on anyone they can. 'Plastic Bitch!' I think to myself before I walk off to my locker. I start sorting my books, when is hear the doors open again. I look up to see Tori and Trina walking in. Tori looked exhausted and Trina was watching her with a very concerned look on her face. They stop at Tori's locker, where they start talking quietly to each other. Which is very out of character for the Vega sisters. I turn my attention back to my locker when I hear...
"Hey Tori, still having your no talent sister drive you to school?" Lola teases loudly.
"Go away Lola." Tori says quietly.
"How many tests have you fail now Tori? Seriously it's not the hard to get your licence!" She throws her head back and laughs, while her two clones mimic her. Tori remains quiet.
"Nothing to say Tori? What? Cat got your queer tongue?" She asks baiting Tori.
"Seriously, Lola leave my sister alone!" Trina spits venomously, stepping in front of Tori. I quietly close my locker and walk toward the developing situation.
"Or you're going to what Trina? I basically own this school, I can say and do whatever I want!" She moves her face close to Trina's "and you can't do a single thing about it!"
"Well I can!" I state as I grab the back of Lola's ponytail and drag her towards the doors. She grabs her head while trying to stay on her feet as I pull her away. I open the doors and pull her out and onto the wet ground, pulling out some of her extensions as I did.
"WTF Jade? Why'd the hell did you do that for?" She seethes angrily, as she looks up at me.
"Keep you're mouth shut Miles, if you know what's good for you" I say calmly.
"Or what?" She gets up, ready for a fight.
"You'll get what's coming too you." Keeping my calm tone.
I turn to walk away, when Lola decides to speak again.
"I'm not scared of you Jade!" her voice betraying how scared she actually was.
"Oh really?" I say walking away.
"Yeah, that's it, run away! Go run back to your girlfriend!" She yells me, trying to make herself sound tough. I stop, and turn around. I glare terrifyingly at her. Her whole body cowers in front of me. I throw the extensions in her face before walking back inside. I walk over to her two clones.
"Leave, or you get the same." I state calmly.
They evaporated before my eyes. I smirk and walk back to my locker. I continue getting my books as if nothing happened. Everyone in the hall, stood there shocked, only starting to move when the bell rings. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tori approaching.
"Jade?" She looked utterly shocked.
"What?" I ask her.
"I... You..." She stutters pointing to the front door "You... didn't have... have to do that!"
"What?" I say defensively "The bitch was pissing me off!" I say before closing my locker. I look at Tori's stunned face.
"Come on Vega, we'll be late!" I grab her wrist and drag her off to class.
Later that day
I'm walking through the empty hall over to my locker, I had forgotten my USB, that had my assignment on it, in all the commotion this morning. I hear Trina running down the hall, squealing about something as I'm searching in my locker.
"Jade!" She yells excitedly running up to me.
"What!" She stops next to me.
"Can you do me a favour?"
"What?" I say again.
"Can you take Tori home today?"
"Yeah" I'm little surprised at how quickly I agreed too it. I look at Trina, she is clearly just as surprised, so I add a "why?"
"I got a call back for an audition I did last month."
"Is this why you're leaving school in the middle of the day?" I ask.
"Yes!" She says excitedly.
"How on earth did you get a call back anyway?" I question.
"I have talent Jade!" She whines at me "Besides, it's an action fighting movie. It's called the 'The Princess Strikes Back!' and I can guarantee they'll cast me to be the princess!" She gushes.
A fighting movie actually made sense. Trina can actually kick some serious arse, but as for the princess part well...!
"Well, good luck with that." I say sarcastically.
"Just make sure Tori gets home safe!" She demands.
"Did she have another nightmare last night?"
"Yeah, it was pretty bad too!" Her feisty demeanour all but forgotten "and that bitch Lola, didn't help this morning either."
"I really hate her." I state, slamming my locker angrily.
"Me too. But seeing you drag her off by her ponytail this morning made my whole year." She laughs walking towards the doors.
"Trina?"
"What?" She stops.
"It's still raining pretty bad, so be careful" I say nicely.
Trina stares at me looking quite thoroughly shocked.
"What?" I say for the third time.
"Tori's making you soft Jade!" She says before trailing off out the doors.
I don't see Tori until school ends. She's standing at her locker.
"Vega!"
"Oh hey Jade."
"Lola give you anymore problems?" I ask her.
Tori laughs "No, she left early to have her hair fixed!"
"I'm taking you home today." I say as lean against the lockers.
"Why? Where's Trina?" She asks.
"She got a call back for a movie, and ran into me as she was running out of school. So here I am." I reply.
"Really? Like an actual real call back?" She asks shocked.
"Apparently! I'll believe it when I see it" I laugh.
She smiles at me "Well thanks. You must be sick of driving me around by now..."
Tori was interrupted as Lane comes sprinting into the hall.
"Tori, I need you to come with me now."
"Why? What's wrong?" She asks a little a taken back.
Lane looks completely distressed "It's Trina! She's been in a car accident!"
"On her way to the call back?" I ask.
"No, on her way back. I don't know much more than that, we need to get to the hospital now."
"Ok I'll drive Tori, we'll meet you there!" I say, Lane nods in agreement and takes back off down the hall. I grab Tori's hand and drag her off to my car. I send out a mass text to the group to meet us at the hospital before leaving.
"It'll be alright Tori! She's going to be alright!" I say before turning on the car. I drive as carefully but as fast as I can. We meet Lane at the entrance.
"Only you can go in Tori. You're next of Kin." He says ushering us into the waiting room.
I suddenly realise Tori hasn't said a single word since we left. She was silent the whole car ride. I look at her. She looks to be in a complete state of shock.
"Tori, you need to go in and see Trina." I say to her but it's like she can't hear me.
"Not again!" She finally says. My stomach drops. I'm the only one here who knows. Lane looks at Tori.
"Tori, I must insist you go in to see Trina." Lane says urgently.
Tori walks over to a chair and sits down. She pulls her knees up to her chest and starts to cry.
"Not again... Not again" is all she says.
Lane looks extremely confused. I just stare at her sadly.
A few seconds later, our friends burst through the doors.
"What happened? Is Trina ok?" Andre asks.
They stop and stare at the scene before them, thinking the worst.
"We don't know, Tori hasn't gone in yet!" Lane says.
"Then why is Tori so upset?" Cat asks concerned. They all look at the sobbing figure of Tori. I didn't know what to do. Trina needs Tori right now and as painful as this is for her, she needed to snap out of it and go help her sister. 'That's it! I need to snap her out of it!' I think to myself. I go crouch in front of her and grab both her arms.
"Snap out of it Tori!" I say sternly. She looks up at me through her tears.
"I know this situation is extremely hard for you to handle. But your sister needs you! Do you understand?" She continues to stare at me.
"Tori, she is all alone in that hospital bed. You remember what it's like to be alone don't you?" I say a little softer. Her eyes widen at my statement, and she nods her head. I pull her into a hug and whisper in her ear "Don't leave her alone."
I pull back and stand up. She follows suit, but walks over to the nurse who takes her in to see Trina.
I turn back to my friends and Lane who are all staring at me.
"What?"
"What was that?" Beck says, the first to speak up.
"What was what?" I ask sitting down in the chair Tori had previously occupied.
"That whole little speech to Tori!" Andre says.
I stay silent. Everybody continues to stare at me.
"What did you mean when you asked Tori if she remembers what it felt like being alone?" Robbie asks. I still don't answer.
"Jade?" Beck says.
I shake my head. Not a word will leave my mouth. I already said too much.
It was more than an hour before Tori comes back out, looking a lot calmer then she did before.
We all get up and walk over to her.
"How's Trina?" Cat asks.
"She's ok. A broken wrist and a few cuts and bruises." She say quietly, everybody sighs in relief.
"Your parents called while you were in there, they'll be here be really soon." Lane says.
"Thanks Lane." She says quietly.
"Can we go in and see her?" Robbie asks, Tori nods. Cat, Robbie, Andre and Beck walk off to go see Trina.
"Can you go in with them Lane?" Asks Tori. He nods. I go and sit back down. I feel Tori staring at me.
"Trina told me you know about me!" She states. I sigh but look straight ahead. She sits down beside me.
"How'd you find out?" She asks.
"I ran into Benji, a bit over a week ago." I begin "He accidentally let something slip and I kind of convinced him to tell me. I'm sorry!"
"Did you tell them?" Gesturing to our absent friends.
"No! I haven't told anyone. Nor would I ever." I say quietly.
"How come you didn't tell me you knew?" She asks me.
"It wasn't information I was suppose to know Tori. If you wanted me to know then you would have told me. It didn't want to make you feel bad or remember any bad memories, so I just kept quiet." I say "But when your nightmares started, I just didn't know how to help you. All I could do was try to comfort you as best as I could. It broke my heart seeing you like that."
"How did Trina find out?"
"I asked to her to keep an eye on you yesterday after I left. I told her you were having nightmares. She kind of figured it out."
We remain quiet for a little while. She's probably really angry at me. I can't blame her really.
"Thank you."
I look at her "What for?"
"For bringing me back to reality. After all this time, you still surprise me Jade West." She says leaning against me shoulder.
I reach down and hold her hand. Tori squeezes it hard, she starts to cry.
"I thought I'd lost her Jade."
"I know."
"I don't know what I would have done if I had!" Her cries start to become harder.
I turn to her "Tori, don't think like that. Trina is fine. That's all you need to worry about."
"I know it's silly for me to think like this. But I can't lose anyone else. I don't think I could take it." I hug her, while she continues to cry.
"I know" I hold her until she feels better. Something tells me she needs to get this out.
She starts to calm down and stops crying after a few minutes.
"You ok?" I ask her.
She nods "God, must think I'm a wreck. I've cried on you twice now."
"Three times actually." She looks confused "Your nightmare on Friday night!" Answering her unasked question.
"How are you not sick of me yet?" She asks laughing a little.
"Well, like I said before, there's a lot of things you don't know about me!" I wink at her confused face, thinking about the little crush I have on her.
Our friends pile back into the room.
"How's Trina?" I ask before Tori could say anything else.
"Complaining her room has no mirrors!" Beck says shaking his head.
"I'm going too go in and see her, you gonna be ok?" I ask Tori.
She nods yes, so I walk off to Trina's room, ignoring the confused looks on my friends faces.
I open the door and see a banged up looking Trina laying in the bed.
"I thought I told you to be careful." I say.
She looks at me and frowns "I was, it's not my fault that tree decided to fall in front of my car while I was driving."
"Are you ok?" I ask her.
"Yeah, a little sore. But I'll get over it." Slightly admiring Trina's resilience.
"How are you not screaming in pain?" Remembering the time she had her wisdom teeth out.
She held up her uninjured arm that had the drip in it. I laugh at her.
"And I got the part." She says excitedly "No tree is going to get in the way of Trina Vega's career."
I'm shocked that they gave her the part but she's hurt so I congratulate her anyway. She smiles at me, we fall silent for a moment before Trina speaks again.
"Thank you" I look at her "For what you did for Tori today. She told me that she'd completely lost it and you snapped her out of it. I don't know how you do it Jade."
"Well, you know, we were worried you dying so.. I had to do something." I say like it was no big deal.
She looks at me "You really care about Tori don't you?"
Her question catches my off guard, I look at her a little surprised.
She laughs at me "Well, when are you gonna do something about it?"
"Trina, I have no idea what you're talking about" I say dismissively, with a slight smirk.
"Oh, please! Anyone can see you two are totally into each other. My gaydar is never wrong."
I give Trina a weird look "Tori is gay."
"I know that, just ask her out, damn it!" She practically yells at me.
"Jeez Trina, calm down or you'll get me thrown out. And why do you want me to ask Tori out so badly?" A little thrown at her sudden aggression.
"Because, it's clear that you care for her and it took you long enough too, by the way." I roll my eyes "and I think you're really good for her. I've never known anyone who's been able to calm Tori down when she gets scared or has a meltdown, except for her friend Benji."
"And as scary as you may seem" I raise an eyebrow at her "ok, as scary as you are" I nod at her "You seem to be really mellow around her now, it's kind of nice. It's weird, way weird, but still, nice!" She finishes.
I consider everything she just said. I have started to mellow out around Tori lately.
"Trina, I don't even know if Tori likes me that way." I begin.
"Oh trust me! You don't have a problem there!" She interrupts.
"Oh!" I smile "Well, let's let her get over all this before I start wooing her, hey?" Gesturing too Trina in the hospital bed.
Trina smiles and nods at me.
"OMG Trina!" Holly Vega bursts into the room, followed closely by David Vega.
"Are you ok baby?" David asks.
"Yeah I'm ok Dad." She says, at which point her mother started fussing over her. I walk out to give them some privacy. I walk back into the waiting room to see everyone has gone. So, I decide to go down to the cafeteria to get a coffee. I come back up about half an hour later, I see David signing papers over at the nurses station.
"Oh Jade, you're still here?"
"Yeah I thought I'd wait to see if Tori was ok before I left." I say.
"Jade, can I have a word?" I nod.
We walk over to the waiting room.
"Trina told us everything." David states, 'wow the man doesn't beat around the bush' I think to myself.
"Ahh, ok!" I say uncertain if I'm in trouble or not.
"She told us you managed to calmed Tori down today. And a couple of time when she had nightmares? Is that true?" He asks. God, I'm starting to feel like he's interrogating me. 'Well he is a cop' I think.
"Yes." I say uncertainly.
"I can't thank you enough. I don't know how you did it. When Tori get like that she's almost impossible to reason with. Thank you so much!" He finishes by hugging me. It surprises the hell out of me.
After he let's go I say "Mr Vega, I'm sorry."
"What for?" He looks at me rather surprised.
"For how I found out about Tori. I kind of convinced Benji to tell me. It was not my information to know. Benji should have not told me anything!" I say
"Jade, how you found out is irrelevant, you have proven your trust to my family by the way you handle the situation. Not only did you not tell anyone, but you have protected Tori and helped her when she needed it. Even though you guys started out on the wrong foot, I can't think of a better friend I'd want for my daughter." He beams down at me. I warm feeling spreads through my stomach. Not many of my friends parents like me, and well, for good reason, but it was kind of nice hearing those kind words from David.
"Oh and is it true that you dragged off Senator Miles's daughter by her ponytail today?" He asks suddenly turning very serious.
"Ahhh, well..." I wasn't sure how to answer, I mean he is a cop. He gives me his cop face.
"Yeeesss." I say slowly scrunching my face up.
His serious face suddenly breaks out into laughter, which really surprises me. He quickly disguises it as a cough, probably knowing he shouldn't be laughing.
"I really hate her dad." He whispers to me before saying "That wasn't the right thing to do Jade, try not to do it again!" He says in his cop voice.
"If you can help it" He says again in a whisper, winking at me. I just laugh at him.
"Yes, Mr Vega, I'll try to behave myself!" I say continuing to laugh.
"I'm not sure that's a promise Jade can easily keep, Dad." Tori says coming out of nowhere.
"I really should be offended by that comment, but you are quite right." I say. David shakes his head smiling.
Tori starts to yawn.
"Why don't you go home honey. There still a bit to do here. Trina has to stay the night for observations." David says.
"Ok, what time will you guys be home?" She asks.
"I'm not sure baby. Will you be ok?" He asks.
"She will be. I'm staying the night!" I state, David and Tori looks at me questioningly.
"What? I can be nice you know!" Throwing my hands up in defeat.
"Ok then, but neither of you are going to school tomorrow. It's been a rough day. Don't worry Jade, I'll call your mum and the school, you's two go home and have a nice night." He leans in and hugs and kisses Tori on the head "Goodnight Baby."
"Goodnight Dad." He then hugs me again, I'm not use to this much affection. I hear Tori giggle at my discomfort. Before he let's go he whispers in my ear "Take care of my little girl." He pulls back, I nod at him. He smiles warmly at me before walking back to Trina's room.
"Come on Vega, it's your turn to cook dinner!" I grab her wrist and drag her out of the hospital.
"Oh what? No way! Can't you make that pasta thing again!" Tori pouts.
"Nope, I'm not looking you! You're cooking! Don't pout at me!" Resisting the urge to look at her.
She stops and turns her pout level up too eleven "Please Jade, please!" Throwing batting eyelashes for good measure. Against all reasoning, I look at her. 'Oh Jesus Christ, I can't say no too that! God I have gone soft!'
I roll my eyes and throw my hands up "Fine!"
"YAY!" Throwing herself on me. 'Well if this happens after I give in, well maybe I could give in a little more often' I think to myself dragging Vega, who is half hanging off me, to the car.
"You can walk you know!" I say.
Tori giggles and starts to walk. She links arms with me and puts her head on my shoulder as we walk to the car. We walk in silence for a moment. Tori speaks.
"If I have nightmares tonight, will you hold me again?" She asks in a small voice.
"I will every night if you need me too!" I say. She tightens her grip on my arm.
"Thanks Jade." She sighs softly.